Realistic Cleveland Cavaliers target #1: Isaac Okoro
While Cleveland did not struggle to score the basketball last year, they gave up an average of 114.8 points per game, which ranked 22nd in the league. Cleveland’s defense also had a rating of 114.8, which ranked dead last for the regular season.
Isaac Okoro would instantly improve the Cavaliers defensive efforts. The 19-year-old wing from Auburn fits what a prototypical NBA wing defender should be. At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, Okoro has the size, strength, quickness and overall athletic ability to guard multiple positions.
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If the Cavaliers select Okoro in the 2020 NBA Draft, it would primarily be for his defense, first and foremost. In his freshman season at Auburn Okoro shot just 28.6 percent from three-point land, and only 67.2 percent from the foul line.
His offensive game would be a work in progress, but if he hounds opposing wings and guards on defense, anything he adds on offense at first would be a bonus.
Okoro does appear to move well without the ball and has the strength to finish around the rim. He did shoot 60.7 percent from inside the arc, so initially, Okoro’s offensive role would likely be cutting without the ball and finishing around the rim.
Developing a shot from the outside would benefit Okoro in the long run, as he could use it as a decoy to use his explosiveness to get to the basket. Okoro does not appear to be someone who can be a primary ball-handler, as he got into trouble, the more he dribbled the ball.
But Okoro, an All-SEC defender, would be an excellent addition to a lineup that featured Sexton and Garland, two guards not known for their defense. Okoro averaged less than one steal per game at Auburn and seems like he is more of a hard-nosed straight-up defender than a risk-taker and playing passing lanes for steals, but does have great defensive feel as a helper and contests shots very under-control.
Okoro could play the shooting guard spot next to Sexton and make up for Collin’s lack of defense, and feasibly with Garland moving to a bench role as the season progresses if that played out. He could also replace Cedi Osman at the small forward spot and lock down the other team’s best wing player.
If the Cavaliers choose not to go with Okoro, they could look at a late-blooming big man from an in-state school.